Improvement in ship-windlasses



nient imite;

*ELTSHA By.. Riou, or SOUTH BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

Leers raam No.v 97,813, aaa .December 14,1869.

s IMPRovnMnNT IN SHIP-WINDLASSES.

The Scheduleireferred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same, l

chors or cables, and particularly to the pawl or dc- I vice employed for arrestingv the'turnin'g of lthe windlasswhen .the desired amount of cable has unwound,

in letting go anchor, andto there hold it, as well as lalso in hoisting anchor, to prevent'the windlass from turning back, &c.

These pawls are subjected to sudden strains or shocks, among other causes, bythe sudden .bringing up of the anchor-cable in letting go anchor, when7 theyxare` dropped intothe windlassratchet to stop further paying out of cable; by the riding or surging of the ship when at anchor; and by the dragging of anchor, c.,.by1whicl1 sudden strains, oftentimes, their breakage `or that of the windlass oecurs,and other' damages necessarily. i l p v l By this invention, thepawl is so constructed as to `be susceptible ofrelicving or `giving to any suddenstrain or pressure on it, while at the same ltime, un-

a pawl of common construction.

In the4 accompanying plate of drawings, my improvement in ships windlassesis illustrated- Figure l being a front elevation of the same. Figure 2, a transverse vertical section, taken inthe pltne of the line :v x, fig. 1,

Figure 3, a, face fviewot' the pawl byit-selon un i enlarged scale from thatby which it is shown inthe preceding igures; y

A., in the drawings, represents the windlass-drnm or barrel, constitutingV a ships windlass, which drum is hung at eaclrend in parallel uprights B, so as vto be free to turn. p C, r a 4ratchet-toothed surface l formed around the windlass at its centre, for receiving a'pawl to hold the windlass from' turning when desirez A D, the holding-pawl for windlas's. This pawl is constructed, as will be hereinafter-:explained, and is hung bya hinge or pivot-joint, Eto `a post, F,- above the windlass-drnin A, extending therefrom over the wiudlass intopositon to interlock `with its ratchet-teeth.

This pawl 1) is constructed of a blank-bar .or plate,

` Gr, provided atlonclend with tubular eyes H, extend-V lng partially along upon its sides.

J, rods passing through each ofthe eyes Hyin purallel planes.

. Theserods J play loosely through the eyes H, and are retained from escaping, at one end by pins a, and at their other, K, ,by being bent at right angles, nx'e'eting at or near'the centre line ofpawl. (See iig. 3.)

L2, a. cross-bar applied to rods, J, and. connecting the two' together near their ends K,`wherc it-is sev cured from moving by suitable nuts d, and pins e, upon each side, as shown in lig..3. Y

M, spiral springs, onel around each rod J, between cross-bar L2, and tubular eyes ll. l

A ,pawl constructed and hung to post, with the rods J toward the wiudlass, when dropped into the rateheteteeth C, comes to a bearing insuch teeth by Zthe .bent ends to said rods, (see 2 more partic-` ular'ly,)andv the pawl receives any strain or force ex- =erted on the windlass from a sudden stoppagethereof .inletting go anchor, from the riding .or surging of a "shipIatfanchor,V and in dragging anchor, yielding or giving thereto, through a com nesSion-of its springs, which, when such straining or forcing subsides, throw the' contact-end of vpawl with windlass, buck to its voriginal or normal contact-position.'

Bya yielding pa'wl, it is obvious the. liability of its breakage, and also `the windlass, is greatly, it' not entirely prevented,.while, at .thesalne time, the windclass, under ordinary occasions, is securely held. der ordinary pressure, it holds the windlass as fast as v By pivoting' or hinging the pawl' to the post4 F, it can the more perfectly adjust itselfl to theratchetteeth, as `the wiudlass is turned in consequence ot' strain thereon.

In lieu lof constructing the contact-end of pawl "with the windlass-ratchet in the peculiar manner de- `scribed, it. maybe provided with a swivel or swinging catch-piece for the teeth, and also made in other respects ...varied in its construction and p arrangement of parts and furthermore, it may bel fastened firmly to the post, in lieu `of'bei-ng hinged thereto, but it is preferable to hinge it.

In lieu of spiral, India-rubber or other forms ot'V l springs may be employed.

For indicating the amount of strainor force car.

ried by the pawl 1), one part G ot' it, along one or both of its edges O, is graduated, and their several graduatons properly marked, soV that by.them,"'ac cording tothedistance which the rods are forced through the eyes H, along the said graduated edge- O, the amount of-force acting tofcompress the springs of the ratchet, will be indicated from time to time. lnlieu of graduating the edges 0, the rods J may be graduated, the indication of pressure on the pawl being secured in either case.

Having thus described my invention,l The above specification of Amy improvement in What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patships windlass, signed by me, this 11th day of Noent, is vember, A. D. 1869.

The pmvl of ships windIa-sses, constmcted to E. B. RICH. yield or give 'to the movementof the'windiass, for suddeuetmins thereon, and the above provided Wit-h Witnesses graduatiqns, substantially as described, for the pur- EDWIN W. BROWN, pose specified. f

ALBERT W. BRDWN. 

